Reyna (reynaway) wrote in madisonvalley, @ 2017-04-12 22:50:00 |
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Entry tags: | !closed, !completed gdoc, !log, [plot] future kids take 4, ~2017 april, ~25 points, ~~jason grace (oursavinggrace), ~~~reyna ramirez-arellano |
WHO: Jason Grace and Reyna Ramirez-Arellano
WHERE: Boarding house
WHEN: During kidplot
WHAT: Surprise kid!
RATING: PG
STATUS: log; completed
Having heard of the the kids showing up, Reyna wondered if one would show up for her as well. Last time this happened, there had been Rowan, who’d been a child of hers and Magnus’s. But since Magnus didn’t remember being friends with her, it would be really awkward if Rowan showed up again - more awkward than it had the first time. Gods, she hoped there wouldn’t be a kid of hers and Percy’s. They’d just gotten comfortable with kissing; having physical evidence of something more would be even worse than when Rowan had shown up. She should’ve known better than to voice that hope, though - even to herself. Because when she returned to the boarding house, it wasn’t a kid of hers and Percy’s waiting for her. It was a kid of hers and Jason’s. *** Alexander had been born and raised in Madison Valley, so he was used to weirdness. So when he woke up in what was obviously the past, he didn’t think much of it. It would eventually end, and things would get back to normal, just like they always did. He looked up when Reyna came in and jumped to his feet, clasping his hands behind his back. “Good morning, Mother.” She looked so young. *** Mother? Reyna just stared for a moment. The stranger in the living room wasn’t terribly young - maybe around the age of some of her Centurions - but he held himself with much more confidence and maturity than his looks would suggest. “Hello,” she said cautiously. She looked around, wondering if anyone else was in the house. “Where’s your father?” *** “I haven’t seen him,” the boy said apologetically. “I assumed he was with you, or perhaps training?” He shifted his weight from foot to foot, the only sign of his inward nervousness, but other than that held himself very much like a soldier. “I think, mother, that Madison Valley has done something strange.” *** “Yes, I think it has,” Reyna said, still a little stunned. This couldn’t be a half-Greek kid; he was much too disciplined. Which meant… “Jason,” she called, hoping he was around. If she had to deal with this, he had to as well. “Are you here?” Turning back to the boy, she gestured. “Be at ease. I’m not at the point where I know you yet. What’s your name?” *** The boy relaxed, but only a very little bit. He was obviously nervous too, unsure how this was going to play out. “Alexander,” he said, braving a tiny smile at the irony of it. The boy was all Roman, and yet bore the name of a Greek, like his father. Jason arrived at that moment, having heard Reyna call his name. Upon seeing the boy, he stopped short. Alexander drew himself up to attention again. “Father,” he said in greeting. Jason looked to Reyna, then back to the kid, clearly at a loss. “Uhhhh?” *** Oh, good. Jason was here. This whole situation was still confusing and a minefield of emotions, Reyna wasn't prepared for, but at least she wasn't alone in this. “The dome,” she explained. “Sent us our future son. It does that sometimes. This is Alexander.” *** “Our son,” he repeated, unsure which word was more jarring. He cared about Reyna, very much, but he’d never thought of her that way. But in some future, apparently, they had a...son? He looked at the boy, and he could see it. Which was more than a little terrifying. “It’s…” he paused. Nice to meet you was a strange thing to say to your son. “This is a...surprise,” he said instead. *** “I think the dome has either sent you or me back in time,” Alexander explained, leaving Reyna to marvel at how much more put together and mature their son seemed than them at the moment. They must've done something right to raise him like this, but the thought of raising a child with Jason...it seemed so unlikely. Then again, just a few months ago she would have dismissed any thought of being with Percy. “I'm sure it'll right itself soon enough,” Reyna said. “And even if it doesn't, or until then, we’re happy to have you.” She looked at Jason, ready to nudge him if he didn't agree in a timely manner. *** Jason didn’t need to be nudged, though. It was weird, yes, but he would step up and take responsibility just as he always had. Jason had never shied away from that. “Of course we are,” he agreed. Even if he couldn’t imagine having a child with Reyna, there was no reason to take it out on that child. Alexander looked from one to the other of them, thinking how very, very strange this was, to see his parents so young, “Maybe,” the boy said, “Maybe we could have breakfast?” He was hungry, after all, and it would give them something to do that was less awkward than just...standing there staring at each other. *** That was a good idea, and one that would give Reyna something to do while she got to know this unexpected child of hers. “Of course,” she said, moving towards the kitchen. But Alex was heading there too, and he started pulling out ingredients to help her get started. Reyna looked at Jason behind Alex’s back, amazed. Their kid had more discipline and helpfulness in him than well-trained centurions much older than he was. *** Jason couldn’t help looking after the boy with a flicker of pride. “Looks like we did a good job, huh?” Because he was polite and disciplined, and seemed very much in control of himself. He seemed to be everything a good child of Rome should be. *** “We did a great job,” Reyna said, still a little stunned. Maybe she shouldn’t have been: she and Jason were both good, disciplined Romans, but she’d seen Legacies borne of good, disciplined Romans who’d been complete nightmares. “It’s still a little hard to believe in some reality, we have a son.” She watched as Alex started putting ingredients together with the familiarity of someone who’d done it many times before. He even whisked eggs the same way she did. *** “Not so terribly hard,” Jason said. “After all, Praetors often end up together.” It was a pretty normal thing, actually. They worked so much and so hard together that it wasn’t much of a surprise, really. “And after all, this place seems to look at every possible reality. I read a theory that every decision we make makes two separate realities - one for the decision we made, and one for the one we didn’t.” *** Reyna looked at Jason in surprise. That kind of thing wasn’t his usual fare. “Science class?” she asked, because she couldn’t imagine him just picking up a book on alternate realities. “Last time this happened, I had a kid show up for me and a friend,” she said. “We weren’t even dating or anything.” Neither were her and Jason, but there’d been a time when she’d hoped they would. And maybe in some universe, they did. *** “The network,” he said, blushing a little. He didn’t understand the theory much more than that, but that much of it had made sense to him. “But either way, it’s not a horrible idea,” he said. After all, Reyna was his friend, and he seemed like a good kid. There were worse things. *** “No, it’s not,” Reyna said, her voice softening as she looked over at Alex. He looked back up at her, and he gave her a smile that was sudden and brilliant and made Reyna feel all sorts of pride in him. “It’ll be interesting when Percy gets down here, though. Until then...” She headed over to the kitchen, tilting her head to invite Jason along. It was time to get to know their son. |